The present invention relates to a method for production of conducting element, which conducting element consists at least of an elongated and essentially flat electricity conductive conductor part, such as a band, a strip or a like, in which several electric components, such as probes, LEDs, resistors and/or the like bringing out the lighting operation or the like according to the use of the conducting element, are being attached to one after another in the longitudinal direction, and of a casing part, which conducting element is being manufactured by arranging the conductor part and the components existing therewith when viewed in a cross section totally surrounded by a casing material forming the said casing part, by exploiting a continuous manufacturing process, such as extrusion or like.
In light operated guidance devices, that are meant, for example, to guide sports performances, it is previously known to use lamps that are connected one after another to an electric conductor placed inside a transparent pipe, which guide the athletes"" performance according to a predrafted programme. In this case, when following the lamps getting lighted one after another, the athlete may keep the previously defined speed. The type of traditional solutions described above are usually based on guidance devices, that have been put together completely one by one from separate parts and in which usually bulbs have been used as lamps, that have been connected in series to the electric conductor passing through a transparent pipe. When using the type of guidance devices above adequate attention must be payed to the tightness of the casing part, so that water may not enter inside the guidance device, when the same is being used in damp circumstances, for example, in a swimming pool.
On the other hand it is known to use also certain type of electric guidance devices or like, that are manufactured one by one and that may be used e.g. the way described above when being coupled to each other one after another. This type of solutions are usually produced by molding the same inside transparent plastics, that is why when coupling the guidance devices to each other completely separate coupling wires must be used, that must naturally be protected separately as well when the same are being used e.g. for guiding purposes under particularly demanding circumstances, such as in inflammable or the like accommodations. Protection of the intermediate wires require thus careful installation or auxiliary measures and components during actual production of the devices on the one hand e.g. to prevent sparkling to the surroundings and on the other hand to protect the electric wires and actual lighting devices from water or humidity of the surroundings.
Furthermore e.g. from U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,427 it is previously known to produce fully capsulated lighting strip based on electroluminance by extrusion. This type of solution, that is purely based on electroluminance, may be carried out in a totally traditional way by using merely elongated leads and intermediate strips, that continue constant (cf. electric cables). Instead of the above, with a structure that is based according to the present invention on printed circuit board technics, it is possible to achieve a conducting strip, that operates particularly dynamically as well and in which there exists a light effect, that moves along the guiding direction. This type of solution may not in any way be achieved by the strip according to the above US Patent, that is based on electroluminance, because it operates by on/off principle only.
On the other hand it is no doubt previously known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,895 as well to produce an elongated strip for lighting purposes. In this patent there has not been presented, however, particularly a moisture resistant end product, that may be achieved just by exploiting extrusion being mentioned above. The type of solution is thus based on at least two separate parts, in which case moisture will cause always problems in practice, when the same enters between the part layers. With this type of solution it is not either possible to end up to a conducting strip, that operates dynamically as described above, but the conducting strips enabled by the solution in question always operate by on/off principle.
Furthermore in EP Application 760448 (which application has become public, however, only after the priority date of the invention in question) there has been represented a solution, which is first of all based on two or more continuous conducting bars passing throughout the whole conducting strip, into which LEDs are connected one after another in the longitudinal direction. The first variation in the application comprises a solution, which consists of two elongated conducting bars, into which there has been attached LEDs, which entirety has been extruded by a suitable plastic based paste to achieve a built-in elongated conducting strip. The other variation in the application is such, that in addition to the conducting bars a binding strip is being fed to the extrusion apparatus, that is unwound from a roll and that is continuous in the longitudinal direction and on top of which there exists separate printed circuit boards, in which the LEDs have been installed. Because in this variation there has been used conducting bars as well, that are continuous in the longitudinal direction, and that are attached to the contact surfaces existing in those totally separate printed circuits by means of separate pressing rollers, it is not possible with the type of solution in question to achieve such dynamic operation of the conducting strip as described above, but instead the solution in question is further based on traditional on/off use.
In the solution in question the starting point is thus always such, that the conducting strip comprises at least two or more conducting bars passing continuously from one end to the other end of the same and into which the LEDs are connected either directly or by using furthermore a binding strip, on which the separate printed circuit boards equipped with LEDs have been supported. This is why the solution in question is particularly with a view to manufacturing technics as well as by the construction of the same disproportionately complicated, because in connection with the same there must furthermore be used first of all conducting bars, continuing in the longitudinal direction, because of the printed circuit boards, that are electrically totally separate in respect to each other, to connect the printed circuit boards and LEDs existing therewith to each other to achieve at least a static operation of the conducting strip.
A method of this invention has an object of providing a decisive remedy to the above discussed problems and, thus, of raising substantially the existing prior art. In order to achieve this object, the method of the invention is substantially characterized in, that the electric components of a conducting element, that enables preferably dynamic use, are being attached preferably by means of surface mounting technics to an electric conductor layer, such as to a copper coating or like of a basic material, that is made of plastics, such as polyamide, polyesters polyethylene napthalate or like, of the conductor part, that is based on so called printed circuit board technics, whereby the electric conductor layer continues essentially uninterruptedly over the whole length of the conducting element, whereafter the entirety being brought out is being surrounded by a casing material, that is based on plastics such as PVC, polyurethane, olefin and/or like.
The most essential benefits of the method of the invention include its simplicity and operating reliability, which enables significantly more profitable production when compared to nowadays conducting elements. The method according to the invention enables first of all a very low profile, thanks to which conducting elements according to the invention may be used e.g. in connection with vinyl floors, because a guiding element enabled by the method, the height of which is below 2 mm, may be installed completely to the same level as the vinyl floor surface surrounding the same. The method according to the invention enables that as well, that the conducting element is water and gas proof, thanks to which a conducting elements being produced by the method according to the invention may be used both in damp or wet rooms/surroundings as well as e.g. in inflammable surroundings. The method according to the invention enables a structure, that has a very strong surface, wherein a conducting element being built e.g. into a floor does not significantly differ from the original vinyl floor surrounding the same by its surface hardness. The method according to the invention is based on very usual extrusion technics in principle, which however, when being used in this connection enables surprising possibilities with a view to production and final dimensions of the conducting element to be produced by the method, whereby the dimensions, shapes and electric characteristics of the conducting element to be produced may be altered very easily by making only the necessary simple technical changes during each working phase. By exploiting the method according to the invention it is possible to produce a continuous and flexible conducting element, that may be stored on roll and in addition to the above straight bar-like conducting elements naturally as well. The invention enables furthermore production of a conducting element, that is secured electrically by loop principle merely thanks to the conductor part existing therewith, that has been carried out by printed circuit board technics. It may be stated in this connection as well, that the bendability of e.g. the solution particularly according to the above EP application may be questionable, because in this solution the conducting bars are being pressed against the contact surfaces existing in the conducting printed circuit boards, in which case when bending the conducting strip, the components in question probably get separated, in which case the electric contact breaks.
Thanks to the invention it is possible to produce conducting strips, that differ from the visual point of view from all previous solutions as well, by feeding e.g. differing coating colour layers to the extrusion apparatus. The colour layers may be of the same colour as the background, self luminous or e.g. reflective. It is furthermore possible to arrange e.g. lences in connection with the colour layers, that are placed on the LED-component surfaces. In this way it is possible within a solution according to the invention to combine intelligently effect of both light and reflective/self-luminous colour.
The non-independent claims directed to the method said worth preferred embodiments for the method of the invention.
The invention relates also to a conducting element to be produced by the method, that is defined in more detail in the preamble of the independent claim directed thereto. The features essentially characteristics for the conducting element are set forth in the characterizing section of the same claim.
The most significant benefits of the conducting element according to the invention include simplicity and operating reliability of production, construction and use of the same. Particularly use of a so called continuous manufacturing process, that means so called extrusion, enables first of all that, that the length of a conducting element according to the invention may be even hundreds of meters. The conducting element according to the invention may be produced as a completely intergrated structure and as an essentially water and gas tight or moisture resistant structure. The conducting element according to the invention may be dimensioned very small, in which case it may be used as totally built-in with a vinyl floor, in which case the surface strength and the like characteristics of the same further correspond essentially to the characteristics of the vinyl floor surrounding the same. In addition to that, thanks to the conductor part being carried out electrically by printed circuit board techniques, the conducting element may be produced in a way, that it operates either statically (no alteration of direction) or dynamically (with alteration of direction), in which case the conducting element operates despite the fact, that some of the electric components malfunction. In case the conducting element needs to be prepared it may be carried out simply by changing pieces of the conducting elements, the length of which correspond one or several sections of the same, by using, for example, soldering or mechanical couplings within joints, whereafter the jointing points may be sealed furthermore with a plastic matrix corresponding to the surface of the strip. The conducting element according to the invention may thus be exploited in most heterogeneous connections and uses, e.g. in public accommodations, ship surroundings, aeroplanes, terminals etc. or for normal guiding purposes, for emergency or safety lighting purposes, for control, guidance use, monitoring, measuring and/or observing purposes etc.; the conducting element according to the invention may be produced according to the nowadays LLL-requirements (Low Location Lighting).